Circle Drive-In

FASCINATING pic, Don! I have to ask, too, where in the world did you find that photo? Also, is there a larger copy of this available?

ken mc, thanks for posting the second pic showing the Circle’s roadside marquee. Someone correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m slowly discovering that the drive-ins owned and operated by Stanley Warner Theaters, and later by Texas Southwest Theatres, displayed this unique marquee. I seem to remember the Fort Worth Twin had a similar marquee, and I’m suspecting that the Corral and, possibly, the Westside, all in Fort Worth, had the same, too.

Thanks, fellas!

A rare photo of Waco’s Circle Drive In Theater taken in 1948 by Dick Bogusch of Ft. Worth.

Here are some recent photos:

Photo1

Photo2

Photo3

You can see more of the bear on this site:
http://www.americandrivein.com/states/tx.htm

Bud Abbott must have changed the spelling of his name in 1957.

A 1989 photo of the Circle Drive-In. Waco Texas.

www.flickr.com/photos/lastpictureshow/2204673459

“The American Drive In Movie Theatre” by Don and Susan Sanders is probably the best book on the history of drive ins. Page 109 has an excellent picture of this screen during its prime, long before the insurance office was built in front of it. The caption states that when it was built in 1947 the screen had an Indian themed mural. Later, it was redone to show the “Baylor Bear”, the mascot of the University of Baylor which is located in Waco, running through the football stadium. You can just barely make out this image in the modern day picture linked to above.

This is a modern photo of the former Circle Drive-In and here is another.